Making Loose Ends Meet
by Level1 CSI Stoaks
Summary: Why does this happen? Two CSIs have been kidnapped, beaten, and shot. The CSIs have only three months to find them, in what seems to be a perfect crime. One mistake and they're shot to death, Can LVCL find them in time?
1. Meet The Crew

**Title: Making Loose Ends Meet**

**Rating: Pg-13**

**Reason: Language mostly**

**Summery: Sara Sidle was picked to train one of the newbies, a girl born and bred in China, Xin Qian Ewer, when one stop to help a screaming woman turns in to a kidnapping, what will happen to the two women? NOC SOC GC**

**Pairings: Nick/OC Sara/OC Greg/Catherine **

**OC: Xin Qian Ewer, Shu Fang Ewer **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

_**And now the tale begins!**_

Sara Sidle was ticked, she had been hand picked by Grissom to work for LVCL, and she ended up babysitting the newcomers, "Hi you must be Xin Qian and Shu Fang Ewer, the new CSIs from China."

The older sister nodded, she had her black hair up in a ponytail, and had purple eye shadow over her slanted eyes, her sister on the other hand, had her hair down and had no makeup on.

"I looking for Sara Sidle." Xin Qian muttered quietly, "She want Nick Stokes"

"That's us" Sara pointed at herself and Nick, "We're here to take you to your new job, with LVCL, Las Vegas Crime Lab"

"I saw on news, Vegas have good crime lab" Shu Fang smiled at Nick, "He is the hunky" She whispered to her sister, who laughed.

"Let me in on the joke" Sara for the first time noticed how much shorter the girls were than she was, "I promise I won't tell Nick"

"Shu Fang thinks he has 'good looks'" Xin Qian laughed as she pointed, once again, at Nick, "I think he is looking strong"

"Want to know a secret?" Sara asked as the girls nodded, "He's not very strong, but he is good with women" Sara whispered as the girls laughed.

"So, since I have no idea what is going on, I'll ask a question, how old are you?" Nick interrupted

"Twenty-Three" Xin Qian answered

"Twenty-One"

"We're both 33, and it is our pleasure to be teaching you how to be great CSIs" Nick smiled his giant smile which gave his eyes wrinkles

"Do you think that twelve years might get in the way?" Shu Fang asked her sister

"Never"

The drive to the lab was a silent one, you could tell the girls were worried about impressing everyone when they got there. Soon Nick was carrying tons of suitcases to two brand new Tahoes, one for each girl.

"" "" "" "" ""

"Be warned the crew is large and frightening at first, but they grow on you soon" Sara knew this from experience

The first person that they met was Greg, "Hello, you must be Xin Qian and Shu Fang, my name is Greg Sanders, I'm the lab tech here, any DNA you find will come to me for processing"

"What about fingerprints, where we take them?" Xin Qian asked the man

"You bring them to me, along with any other trace evidence to be analyzed"

"Bye Greg, we still get to honor of introducing them to Warrick, Catherine, and Grissom" Nick ushered the girls off giving Greg the look of death.

Next was Catherine, "Hi, Catherine Willows, you are"

"Catherine meet Xin Qian and Shu Fang Ewer the new CSIs" Sara smiled a grim smile at the older CSI

"Hey, so you're the new kids? Grissom told us you were from out of town, but not out of country" She looked at the two girls, "Where you from anyway?"

"We from China, we go to collage but no where want us to work, cause we girls, so our parents sent us here to work in the LVCL it was on the television" Shu Fang replied, "We look forward to working with you soon, Ms. Willows" And with that Sara and Nick pushed them off.

Grissom was the third lucky member of the team to meet his new employees, "Gil Grissom, you can call me Grissom, I'm your new boss, and I'm sure you are aware of the fact that you will be training with Sara or Nick until you have passed your entrance exam"

Xin Qian looked at the man lost, "We were told our boss was man named Ecklie, not Grissom"

"No that was wrong, you work for me, trust me you don't really want to work for him"

Warrick Brown was easy he burst in to Grissom's office right at Sara, Nick and the girls were leaving, "Warrick meet Xin Qian and Shu Fang"

"Sorry, I'd love to chat but I have to talk to Grissom about my latest case, nice to meet you we'll have a better chat later" So they left

"I like Sanders, he sound nice, like party man"

"You don't know the half of it" Sara murmured as she looked at the two girls talking about how they couldn't wait until they got to hang out with Greg, or who ever they were talking about.

"" "" "" "" ""

20 minutes later Sara had to break it up, "Girls, I know you'd love to stay and chat, Nick and I have to go our separate ways right now, which means that Xin Qian you have to come with me and Shu Fang has to go with Nick, say your goodbyes and lets run"

"" "" "" "" ""

"Xin Qian, you will be accompanying me on a case on the Vegas Strip, three men were murdered in a club, it's our job to find any clues to solve it."

Xin Qian creased her brow, "What club name?" you could tell she was not ecstatic about going to a night club

"It says, it's a new one called The Rocks" Sara read the folder, "That's going to be bad for business, people murdered two days after it opens"

Sara helped Xin Qian into the passenger side of her vehicle, and then got in to the drivers seat, and most of the drive was in silence again.

"People look at me funny, point then stare" Xin Qian looked at the dashboard, "All way through airport, in out of crime lab"

"Yeah, people here are weird like that, they think everyone has to be all generic" Sara replied trying to comfort the girl.

"Where fun in that?"

Sara shook her head, she didn't understand it either, "It gets really bothersome when you're working on a case with Warrick cause some people try to send him out of their homes, so he can't collect evidence"

"That is horrible, rude" Xin Qian stated, "I would not put up with it, I would leave person to solve own murder"

"Sometimes I think Warrick would love to do that, but his job has been on thin ice for years, and he wants to keep it"

"" "" "" ""

Xin Qian and Sara were almost to the Strip when they heard a woman screaming that her husband had been murdered, "We have to stop Sara!" Xin Qian shook the drivers arm, "It our job!"

Sara gave in and started driving in to a parking lot, when Xin Qian jumped out of the car before it stopped, obviously breaking her ankle


	2. Being Nicked

Xin Qian, though her ankle was obviously broken, and swelling something horrible, continued sprinting to where the woman's voice was coming from. She could hear Sara telling her to get back to the car so they could walk in this calmly and make sure it wasn't dangerous, but she wanted to help.

Soon the pain from her ankle caused her to stop running, there was sweat dripping off her body as though she was standing in a shower, and she seriously felt like throwing her lunch at the wall, but she limped slowly toward the side of the building.

"" "" "" ""

Sara couldn't get the girl to stop, but obviously her ankle did, about three yards away from the side of the complex building she started to limp. Seeing as of the fact that Xin's blood was on Sara's hands, meaning that if Xin died Sara was to be held responsible for it, Sara started after the girl.

She didn't make it very far, before she was even three steps away from her car she heard a gun being emptied and Xin screaming. Sara started to run toward her, but got a boot in the back, forcing her to the ground. She could tell she had a gun to her back. She started moving trying to get the person to get the gun away.

She felt around her waist trying to find her gun, she was shocked to find it missing, it took a minute for her to realize that she had left the gun sitting in her car, she had been in such a hurry to save Xin that she had forgotten her gun.

"" "" "" ""

"Stay down!" A man with a gun was standing over Xin Qian, "Unless you want me to shoot a round in to your head.

Xin Qian whimpered, she was already bleeding and was in excruciating pain, and there was a man binding her legs together and a woman binding her arms behind her back, then a man threatened to kill her.

"" "" "" ""

Sara had been so worried about the young girl that she hadn't noticed that the man standing above her had released half of a round into her back, she was laying in a puddle of warm, sticky blood, her own blood.

"Are you ready to meet your friend before you die?"

Sara nodded, earning herself a hard punch to the face, "Don't hurt her" earning yet another punch

"" "" "" ""

The next thing Sara saw was herself being tossed in to a Budweiser truck. Her captor had his dirty fist in her mouth so she couldn't scream at him. So, Sara was basically willing to be thrown in to the truck.

"Xin? Are you alright?" She saw the limp form of the girl she was supposed to watch, bleeding out of her stomach and her arm. "Xin?"

Xin didn't reply giving Sara the horrible feeling that she was dead, but she didn't want to give up on the girl so she crawled over to where she was crumpled. There was blood just gushing from her wounds; If Sara didn't do something the girl would surly bleed out. Thinking quickly Sara cut part of her shirt off with the knife she happened to have in her pocket and wrapped it around the girls wounds.

"" "" "" ""

"Shu Fang, where is your sister?" Nick hung up his cell phone, "I've been tryin' to reach Sara and Xin Qian fer half an hour!"

"They at crime scene" Shu Fang started edging closer to her mentor, "You know, being worried bad for back" She started to rub his back affectionately.

"What are you doin'?" Nick spun around shocked, that Shu Fang had touched him, much less flirted with him.

"Rubbing mentor's back," she smiled, "Nick look angry at Shu Fang. Shu Fang do something wrong?"

"Yes, Shu Fang do something' wrong" Nick projected at the girl, "You have no right to touch me."

"Shu sorry." The girl walked back over to her corner of the room, secretly crying. She didn't understand what she had done wrong; All she had done was try to calm Nick down; All that ended up doing was making him angry at her. She decided to run out of the room as quietly as possible.

"" "" "" ""

20 minutes later Greg and Catherine walked in to the room where Nick was steaming, "Hey man, what did you do to Shu Fang? We walked passed her on the way here, she was sitting on a bench with silent tears dripping down her face. All we could get out of her was something in Chinese."

"I projected at her" Nick looked at the floor, "I was kind of steamed, because Sara and Xin Qian weren't answerin' when I called their phones, so I yelled at her"

"Dude, she has a major crush on you, what'd she do to set you off?" Greg stared at him seriously.

"Nothin' that should have made me yell at her" Nick was still staring at his feet, "She saw I was mad, so she started rubbin' my back, and I blew up" Nick saw the entire seen replayed in his head.

"You yelled at her for making a move!" Catherine glared at him, "Looks like you're going to have a nice three months"

Nick glared at her and walked out of the room, looking for Shu Fang.

"" "" "" ""

"Hey Shu" Nick walked up the obviously distressed girl, "Sorry 'bout earlier"

Shu Fang looked at him with sad eyes, "Shu no mean to hurt Nick, Shu try to calm Nick, help Nick".

She stared at him for what seemed like ages, she found him so attractive. She knew he thought she was just a little girl.

"Shu, would you like to go out sometime? We can go where ever you want". He sincerely looked at her as though she was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid eyes on. And he knew she was.

"You only say that because you made Shu Fang sad, and do not wish for pink slip" She didn't believe what she saw on his face. As much as she would have loved to, she didn't, "But Shu go against better judgment and go out with Nick"

Nick smiled, "You won't regret it". He took her hand and walked her back into the lab.

"" "" "" ""

Back in the truck Xin was still yet to say anything. She was awake, but didn't say anything, Sara was really worried about the girl. "Xin, please say something, like my name, or something".

"Sara, Xin hurts, no energy to talk," And that was all she said.

Sara had run out of material to cut and Xin was still bleeding all over the place. Xin don't worry, the truck has to stop for gas eventually. Then we'll make an escape".

"And go where? Xin in no condition to walk, we in middle of desert, if try to escape either heat or bullets get us".

Sara knew that her comrade had given up hope to live, but she wasn't about to give hers up. She looked at the girl miserably. She knew that if she hadn't pulled over, Xin would be safely finding trace evidence at a night club. Not dieing in the back of a beer truck.

After another two and a half hours of watching Xin sleep the truck pulled over. And a man opened the door to the trunk, and picked up Xin, as his partner picked up Sara. They carried the two girls into a shack and set Sara down, and started punching her until she fell into unconsciousness.

"" "" "" ""

The first night of Xin Qian's and Sara's capture had ended and the second one had started when… "Grissom!" Shu Fang ran into her boss's office, "Look at this!" She started waving a tape around in the air. He took it. "Police bring to Shu!"

Grissom popped the tape into his VCR and pressed play:

"_**Hello LVCL." A female's voice sent chills through Grissom's body as a shot of Xin Qian and Sara chained to a wall, was shown on the screen., "Recognize anything? You should. Cause these two CSIs are worth millions on the black market, but we can make more money by threatening their lives for cash". Sara was barely clothed and Xin was bleeding out of multiple body parts; both incredibly bruised and unconscious. "So unless by midnight, every night, we find 13 thousand dollars sitting next to the old cactus, we'll shoot the brunette. And if you fail again we'll shoot the foreigner. We'll even be kind enough to let you watch it on live input, placed on every channel and on every computer."**_

"_**So," a man entered the frame, "Until that time, we will give you a recording everyday to show you that they are, in fact, alive and well alive"**_

"Shu, are you there?" Grissom waved his hand at the girl

"Shu here" And with that she ran off

"" "" "" ""

Nick and Shu Fang sat silently on the floor in the break room; Nick trying to comfort his girl. He didn't know what was wrong, but he wasn't about to ask either. Shu had been walking with Nick to get some coffee from Greg's 'secret' stash, when she broke down and fell to the ground. He stroked the girl's perfect black hair as she sat crying in his lap.

Greg was surprised when he found the pair on the floor. He had just walked in to innocently get coffee when ,alas, he finds Nick on the floor with the younger girl in his lap, stroking her hair, and rubbing her back with his free hand.

"Nick!" Greg accused, "What is your problem? She's 12 years younger than you, you shouldn't be touching her that way!"

"Greg," Nick warned, "Why does it matter to you?"

Greg just grabbed his coffee and walked out of the room angrily.

What Greg had said had gotten Nick thinking though _"She is 12 years younger than me and a co-worker. And here I am takin' a feel when she's in her time of need. What does that say about me?" _

He immediately stopped touching her, took his hands off of her, and helped her up. "Sorry Shu, Greg's right, we shouldn't be doin' this."

She looked disappointed, "Why does matter what Greg think? Shu no mind. Shu go to far? Make Nick mad again?"

She looked disappointed, "Why does matter what Greg think? Shu no mind. Shu go to far? Make Nick mad again?"

"No Shu's fine, you didn't do anything' wrong. It's just I have to work with these people and if they think I'm taking advantage of you, they'll never get off my back".

"Shu get it, Shu leave, no make people think Nick bad man". And with that she walked out of the room , slightly disappointed. She had been enjoying the physical contact with the man, but she knew he wanted her to leave.

"" "" "" ""

Soon enough Nick and Shu Fang were walking down the hallway together when Warrick Brown walked up, "I heard you got a feel, how was she?" He pointed at Shu Fang.

Nick glared at the man, "Rick, if you want to keep your dignity or anything' else fer that mater, I advise you shut up and leave us alone".

"Wow that good? I think I might take her off you for a day or two." Warrick started his hand toward the girls shoulder, but she grabbed his arm and twisted her body so that his arm followed her motions.

"Enough Shu for Rick?" She spat at the man, "And Nick told Shu, you were nice man." Warrick glared at the couple as he rubbed his arm.

"" "" "" ""

"Sorry 'bout that Shu." Nick had taken Shu Fang to his office trying to get some privacy. It didn't work. Grissom almost knocked his door down trying to get in.

"What's this I hear about you taking advantage of your pupil?" Grissom asked, "I've heard several times that 'Nick got a feel, on the foreign chick' or from people who talked to Warrick, 'Nick said the foreign girl is good enough to knock your dignity and everything else off' Would you mind explaining?"

"Shu do!" Shu stood up, "Nick comfort Shu, cause Shu sister is dying. Greg walk in, get wrong impression, tell whole lab Nick using Shu."

"What! Xin Qian is dyin'! Where's Sara?" Nick burst out.

"Sara dying with Xin, both captured and shot".

"Nick, is this the whole story?" Grissom ignored the statements made by Nick and Shu Fang.

"It's the whole story. And after Greg came in and accused me, I had Shu leave so I wouldn't start usin' her."

"Nick thought of using Shu?" Shu asked ,hurt, "I thought Nick love Shu".

"No, no, I didn't think of usin' Shu, I was afraid that I was usin' you." Nick stared at her with the same look of sincerity that he had used when asking her out. "Greg made me think that it was wrong for me to hold you, like I was takin' advantage of you."

Shu Fang stared at the ground, as she walked out of the office. She soon realizd her mistake was walking out with out a guard.

"" "" "" ""

Greg walked up to her quickly and abruptly stopped right in her line of vision. He squatted down in front of her.

"What you want?"

"I was just thinking, if Nick was good enough for you, what you would think of me? So, I decided to come find you and ask you to go on a date with me."

"Shu know what Shu think of Greg. Shu think Greg is pig! Dirty, nasty man! Shu never go on date with you. Shu never date man who ruin Nick dignity and make Nick sound like bad man."

"Well, I heard you did that to him already. Warrick told me that Nick said you were enough to knock a man's dignity off, and everything else for that matter."

"Nick try to tell horrid man that he knock crap out of him, in front of crime lab. Horrid man take wrong way, think that Nick tell him how good Shu feel."

"Well, the way it looks and sounds is, that Nick is using you, just trying to get laid." He laughed at her.

Shu Fang stared at Greg Sanders, he enjoyed her pain. "Nick using Shu? Confused. Nick tell Shu he love her, Nick lie?"

"Nick lie," Greg confirmed, "He lied to you, just trying to use you, gain enough trust from you to get himself laid. The second you sleep with him he's going to go back to treating you like he did last night."

The next thing Greg knew, Shu Fang had her head on his shoulder crying. Greg just stayed where he was for 20 minutes, with the girl's head on him, soaking his t-shirt.

They didn't move until Nick walked up, at which was the exact moment Shu Fang stood up, followed by Greg, who wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. Though she was only 4' 11" and he was 5' 10" she felt right at home in his arms, much more comfortable than she ever had in Nick's. They walked down the hallway.

"" "" "" ""

"That asshole!" Nick was sitting in his car yelling at the radio, "Tellin' the entire lab I took advantage of the girl, just so he can steal her from me!"

Warrick saw his friend screaming at someone in the car, so he opened the passenger door and got in, "Hey Nicky".

"What do you want?"

"To ask you who you're screaming at, and to apologize"

"I'm screamin' at my radio, and why do you want to apologize to me?"

"What'd the radio do to you?"

"In my little world right now, it's Greg."

"Sanders? The Lab Rat? I want to apologize for what I said earlier, when Greg told me you had been using her I got angry, so I took it out on you guys."

"Yeah Sanders, and why'd you get angry?"

"Cause she's like me, the Minority, trying to fit into the United States when no one wants you, but you want to help them, even if they won't take it. And, I thought that you were one of the only people who wouldn't take advantage of someone in the Minority after knowing me for damn near eight years. So, when Greg told me you have been using Shu Fang, I decided to take it out on you. Little did I know that I would end up insulting Shu Fang as well."

"You know good and well I would never do anythin' like that to anyone, minority or not." Nick looked his friend in the eye, "I love her."

"You've known her for 36 hours and you know this?"

"It's like an instinct, pullin' me farther in, but she doesn't feel the same way about me," Nick took his eyes off Warrick moving them to the steering wheel, "Anymore."

"What do ya mean, anymore?"

"Greg got to her, I said somethin' causin' her to leave the room, when Grissom came to settle the case. Well, about half an hour later I found her cryin' on the man's shoulder. Then she stands up and he stands up, puts his arm 'round her waist and they walk of together. Greg has to have said somethin' to her, got it through her head that I am usin' her. That all she is, is one of my lousy attempts to get laid."

"Just give it some time. Shu Fang will see right through Greg and come back to you."

"" "" "" ""

"Greg no use Shu?" Shu asked, worried.

"Greg no use Shu," the lab tech reassured the girl as he gently grabbed her waist, "Something wrong?"

"Did Grissom tell you?"

"Did Grissom tell me what?"

"Xin Qian and Sara dying, that why no one can contact, they being held hostage. Unless Vegas pay three million a night, Xin and Sara shot to death."

"That's horrible! Is Vegas paying?"

"Grissom tell me nothing. My sister being murdered and he have no decency to tell me if he know anything, or if they pay for the lives."

"I'm sorry, babe." He looked her in the face. His lacked the sincerity that Nick's had. Instead it was filled with contemplation, and thoughts of evil things to do to her.

"Your face lack sincerity, nothing like Nick."

"Where did Nick's 'sin' cerity get you? Trapped in a lousy chance for the man to sleep with you."

"Did you make up stories about Nick?" Shu accused. "You use Shu! Not Nick!" She started pushing at Greg's chest, trying to get him away, screaming for Nick.

"Shu, you scared him off, he's not coming back," Greg smiled wickedly, "Looks like your stuck with me for a while."

Now the girl wasn't just screaming for Nick, she was screaming for Catherine, Warrick, Ecklie, Grissom and Nick, but no one came. What if the shift had ended, so the only people that were left were Shu Fang and Greg, at least until swing shift started.

Soon Shu Fang gave up hope and gave in to Greg. Realizing too late that her mistake was going into sound proof room with someone who had only just earned her trust. How was she supposed to know that sound couldn't go out of the room?

"" "" "" ""

"Well I'm going to go shower and get ready to go home, see you later Rick" Nick climbed out of the car.

"" "" "" ""

When Nick walked past the lab on his way to the locker room, he noticed Shu Fang in her panties and socks, unbuttoning her blouse. He burst in to the room yelling at her.

"Nick!" Shu stopped messing with her shirt and ran up to him, "Greg bad pig!" She hugged Nick as hard as she could, "Shu sorry, Greg tell Shu that Shu just a lousy attempt for Nick to get 'laid'. Shu sorry, Shu believe Greg. But Shu just attempt for Greg to get laid!"

The next thing Nick knew Shu had her face in his chest and his shirt was wet. "Shu, it's ok. I'm here." He wrapped his arms around her, which was hard seeing as he was one and a half feet taller than she was. "I forgive Shu, I was never mad at Shu."

"You sure?" She looked at him, worried that he might say no.

"Yes Shu, I'm sure. Now let's get your jeans and shoes, re-button your blouse, and I'll take you home."

Shu nodded, took her clothing articles from Greg's desk and walked off with Nick.

"" "" "" ""

Shu, for some odd reason, had been too lazy to put her clothes back on, so Nick had taken her jeans and shoes. So when Warrick was leaving the building, he noticed the sight of Nick fully clothed and Shu Fang, partially clothed with Nick carrying the articles not on her. Warrick got the wrong impression so he rushed up and gave Nick a nice pop to the jaw.

What was that fer?" Nick yelled at his friend. Warrick pointed at Shu Fang. "Well Rick, if you're lookin' for someone to punch for her lack of clothing, you'd be lookin' for Greg."

Shu nodded, "Greg pig." She ran over to Nick and started using her blouse to clean up the blood coming from his nose and lips.


	3. Unspoken Terms

Shu and Nick had come to an unspoken agreement not to tell anyone (other than Warrick, who already knew) about the incident between Greg and Shu. The two minority had become close friends in the time between when Warrick had tried to punch Nick's lights out, and when they decided to keep Nick and Shu's relationship behind closed doors.

"" "" "" ""

"What is your problem?" Nick had snuck up on Greg and was now holding him by the throat a foot off the ground, "Get your hand off of me!"

Nick punched Greg in the face, "That was for lying to Shu Fang." He punched Greg in the solar plexus, "That's for using her." In the nose, "For trying to sleep with her." Again in the nose, "And this one is so you'll forget about anything that happened in the last 25 hours and not tell a soul." He dropped Greg and walked off.

"That's great Nick, my nose is bleeding, what am I supposed to tell everyone?" He yelled at Nick's back getting only a single finger salute.

"" "" "" ""

10 minutes later Greg was still sitting in the lab trying to stop the bleeding when Shu Fang walked in, "Greg, what happen?" She pointed at her nose for indication.

"Your husband happened. He came in here, like he was the king, and picked up poor defenseless Greg and start to beat the crap out of him." Greg replied rudely

"Shu have husband?" Shu asked apparently confused once again, "You mean Nicky? Shu no married to Nicky."

"" "" "" ""

"Feeling better?" Sara noticed the girl next to her was finally awake

Xin stared at her, "Yeah, I peachy, I never felt better. Here your sign"

Sara turned her head toward the window on the wall they were chained to. There was something off with this kidnapping, they hadn't seemed to be the targets they just showed up. Like Nick, he hadn't been the target for being buried alive, he just followed the clues, just like Xin and Sara had.

"" "" "" ""

Greg had been walking out of the lab when he was asked to sign for a package. Under normal circumstances, Greg would have just called another CSI to come get it so he could go home. But Greg knew this was different, he knew about Sara and Xin Qian, so he signed for the package immediately and raced up to Grissom's office.

Tearing at the tape as he ran, Greg wasn't surprised to find a tape and directions to where the money was to be placed inside of the box. With out knocking, Greg burst right in to his boss's office and pushed the tape into the VCR.

"Greg, what have I told you about knocking?"

"Knock first, be invited in, blah, blah, no time, the first tape, watch." he panted as he clicked the play button, not even looking up from Grissom's VCR as he spoke.

"_**Hello CSIs." The female's voice once again sent chills through the two men's bodies, "Your girls are in perfect condition, now if you would be so kind as to follow the map we have sent you, and leave us our 13,000 dollars, they will stay in the same condition. If not, bye-bye CSI." She laughed, "Oh look they want to say something."**_

"_**Shu, no worry 'bout us, we fine. Nick, keep Shu safe, no hurt her."**_

"_**Grissom, Catherine, Warrick, Nick, and Greg, sorry, I won't be there for work, for a long time probably. Like Xin said, Nicky take care of her sister, and everyone look out for each other, don't do anything stupid."**_

_**And the tape went back to the woman, "Just so ya know, they don't know about the ransom, so, they won't say anything for or against it. Good bye LVCL." The tape paused at a full shot of the two women beaten and chained to the wall.**_

"Greg? Are you ok?" Grissom once again had a shocked CSI in his office. When Greg didn't reply he picked up his coffee, took the tape and walked to the conference room; calling each CSI on his or her cell phone, having them report to the room.

"" "" "" ""

"Hey, is there a party I wasn't invited to?" Jim Brass walked in to the room.

"We were getting ready to watch the tape about Sara and Xin, if you would like to stay, please sit, Jim," Catherine stood up offering the police officer her chair.

"Sounds like fun." He took the chair and pointed at the screen.

After watching the tape the only sound that could be heard was Shu crying on Nick's chest. Even Al Robbins, who had shown up half way through the video after letting a mortician take a body to be buried, was shocked at the state of the two women. Both were bleeding from several body parts, including the skull, stomach, arms, legs, and torso. Both beaten and bruised, trying hard not to cry. Xin's hair, which had been perfected right before leaving the crime lab, looked like a bird's nest; tangled and knotted. Her nails where chipped, her face swollen with scratches, and held places that looked like they had been whipped. Sara, on the other hand, looked as though someone had taken a sludge hammer and given it contact to her face and arms over, and over.

Nick looked at Grissom, who nodded, and he took Shu out of the room. "Shu, I promise we're going to find your sister and Sara, I will refuse to work on anything else."

"Shu no want to stay alone at home, Shu live with Nicky?" Shu looked at her boyfriend, though she was having difficulty, seeing as he was so much taller than she. She stuck out her lower lip and pouted.

Nick, though he knew that was going to fast for a normal relationship, understood what Shu was going through. After being buried alive Nick wouldn't stay at home alone. So for three weeks he moved in with Catherine, living in her family room. He agreed to let Shu move in, fearing what might come after moving in, but he smiled and offered to help Shu gather her things and pack them after the shift.

Keeping the promise of not telling anyone about them dating, Nick made up an outrageous story about why he had to take Shu in the hallway. Something about him using it as a learning experience for training her.

"" "" "" ""

It was an hour till midnight and the team had talked Shu Fang and Nick in to taking the 13,000 dollars to the cactus. "Nicky, Shu scared" Shu Fang was walking right next to Nick as he carried the bag, "What if jump us?"

"They won't if we don't come back that would be suspicious enough to go searching." Nick reassured the girl.

Quietly moving Nick and Shu Fang placed the bag under the cactus and ran back to the vehicle to head home.

"" "" "" ""

After the shift Nick kept his promise and met Shu Fang at her apartment, truthfully he could see why she wanted to leave, it was run down, and in the bad part of town, or what would have been the Ghettos in NY.

Inside the house Shu picked up one of her many suitcases and started picking things up off of the floor, and just stuffing them inside the case.

Slowly moving through the house, the pair found, and placed, every single item of Shu's leaving Xin's all in one pile in the middle of the kitchen.

"" "" "" ""

"Ok Shu," Nick started, "This will be your room," he led her into a room that was about the side of her apartment, which was not small, but still not huge "You will have full run over the house, so don't be worried to get up at whatever time you want and eat something, or shower, or whatever it is you like to do before our shift starts. And please, if you need anything just walk over three doors, knock and come in."

The unpacking process took about three hours longer than the actual packing had, which to Nick made no sense what so ever, after seeing how her house had been he had a horrible feeling that his house would end up the same way.

"" "" "" ""

The next two weeks were basically the same, get a tape, watch it, pay the ransom, and try to find Xin and Sara. It was taking a serious toll on everybody

"It doesn't make any sense!" Grissom punched his pillow, "Why can't we find them?" Grissom didn't even bother taking his pulse, he knew how mad he was.

Seeing as how he couldn't sleep, Grissom got out of his bed picked the first video that they had received up off of the bedside table, and popped it into the VCR in his living room.

After watching it over and over again, he noticed something odd about the tape, the girls' mouths weren't moving along with their words, "That's odd." He rewound the tape once again, this time with the intent to read their lips.

Xin was actually saying, "Grissom! Hurry please, they beating us to death!" and Sara was saying, "You assholes, you shoot us, you chain us to a wall and then you intend to let us live only long enough so you can find someone who will buy our bodies! Then you plan to shoot us to death, and you want us to tell them we're ok?"

Grissom started going through all the tapes until the fifth when the girls started to really say what their mouths were moving to.

With this knowledge Grissom changed into his work clothes and raced back to the lab, even though shift wouldn't start for four hours he wanted to use the video lab.

"" "" "" ""

Sitting in the lab with people refusing to help him Grissom dialed Warrick's house, it rang five times before a very ticked off Warrick answered it, "What is your problem, you don't just go calling graveyard shift workers at noon! Call me back in 12 hours! I'm hanging up so if this is vital yell!"

"Warrick! Stop!" Grissom yelled, "I have a breakthrough about the girls!" He started, "Get down to the lab"

"Can this wait until shift starts?"

"Now!" He hung up the phone and started dialing the others.

"" "" "" ""

"What do you want? Whatever you're sellin' we don't want any!" Nick answered the phone rudely.

"Well Nicky, I'm not selling anything." Grissom replied

"Oh sorry Grissom, you know the only calls I get are people trying to sell me crap"

"Well whoever you're girl is, is going to have to wait until tomorrow to spend more time with you, cause you need to get down here we have a breakthrough on Sara and Xin Qian's case"

"That's great!" Nick sounded surprised that there would have been another clue, already right after the first ransom had been placed, "I'll get Shu and we'll be right down." He hung up before Grissom could question him about the girl.

"" "" "" ""

"Quit calling me asshole!" Catherine answered her phone, "I do not want to meet you!"

"Well you already know me and this is the first time I've called you"

"Grissom!" Catherine replied shocked, "I'msorrythisguykeepscallingmeaskingmetomeethimatalocalbarbutIdon'twannabuthekeepsoncallinganditisgettingonmylastnerve" Catherine told her boss in one breath.

"Don't worry just get over here, we have a breakthrough, see you soon, just consider it overtime with out pay." and he hung up.

"" "" "" ""

"Hi Grissom" Greg answered his phone like a civilized human being, "What do I owe to the pleasure of this phone call?"

"I need you at the lab"

"Of couse bossman"

"" "" "" ""

20 minutes later the entire graveyard shift was standing in the video lab in the middle of the swing shift.

"Breakthrough," Grissom started, "It's been two long weeks and we haven't had one," He stared at his CSIs, "Well we might have one now."

"" "" "" ""

"Xin?" Sara asked, "I've noticed that you have difficulty warming up to people, hell we've been in here for 15 days, and you've only said 20 or 30 words to me, I was sort of wondering, um, why?"

"You want to know? Well, Xin will tell," The girl glared at her companion, "When Xin was nine brother was murdered, multiple gun shot wounds, severe head trauma, there was slice starting at right side of cerebral cord, going across to left side neck." Sara stared at her in disbelief, "Xin watch from outside window, blood everywhere" She wiped her face, trying to keep Sara from seeing her tears, "I love brother, named Cheng, 24th birthday"

"Xin, I didn't know"

"Of course you did not!" Xin spat, "When Xin 12 and Shu almost 10 parents put on trial for murder. Parents no do, white man do, he come for Xin and Shu, Xin find note saying," She took a breath, " 'When your twenty forth year is about to begin. Your murder will baffle the world to no end. Gory and painful, with weapons of three. Your murder will baffle the world with no end. From, The Executioner P.S. Your sister will have the honor of watching your death.'" She repeated from memory, "Xin no tell Shu, just make Shu move to America three months before Xin's birthday" Xin looked at Sara praying she wouldn't judge her as a wimp, "Xin almost 24, afraid for life"

"Xin! Some one wants you dead?"

"Did Xin not just say that?" Xin continued, "Parents are convicted and get death sentence, leaving Xin to care for Shu, soon, are pushed to the streets, continue to go to school, both get full scholarships to collage, become CSI, wait until Shu graduates, flee from country. Get job at LVCL."

"Why didn't you tell anyone that your parents were innocent?"

"The man who kill Cheng was in the court room staring at Xin entire time, Xin afraid to put Shu in harm by telling that man do it, not parents." Xin put her head on the wall and tried to go to sleep.

"" "" "" ""

Right before Grissom explained what he had discovered Shu broke down and started crying, no one understood why but they managed to get something sounding like "Cheng" out of her battered voice, "When your twenty forth year is about to begin. Your murder will baffle the world to no end. Gory and painful, with weapons of three. You murder will baffle the world with no end." It was raspy and cut but Nick heard it.

"Where'd you hear that?" Nick asked slightly taken back at the statement of death that his girlfriend made out in the middle of her misery, "What does it mean?"

Shu stopped crying so she could yell at Nick "Nicky! You are so oblivious! When your twenty fourth year is about to begin. On you 24th birthday. Your murder will baffle the world to no end. You going to be murdered and no one will figure out who. Gory and painful, with weapons of three. You going to be killed with three weapons. Shu hate you." She broke down, once again crying on his chest.

"As I was saying" Grissom glared at Nick, "We have a breakthrough. For the first five days, the girls aren't saying what their mouths are. Day one, Xin tells us that their being beaten. Sara tells us what the intent is to do with them, kill them and sell the bodies. Day two, Xin tells us the first line of the poem, Sara tells us that there are four people holding them. Day Three Xin tells us line two, Sara tells us that Xin is bleeding and is going to bleed out in a matter of days. Day four: Xin tells us line three, Sara yells at the assholes who took them. Day five, line four, and exactly what she's saying in the video for Sara."

"So Xin thinks that the kidnapping is related to the what ever it is?" Greg stared at Grissom, "Cause why would they take Sara too?"

"" "" "" ""

Sara stared at Xin thinking about what she had said, wondering if she thought the two events were linked, if her brother's murder had anything to do with their kidnapping., '_Maybe this is all about Xin, it has nothing to do with me. I'm just an innocent bystander, trapped in a man's warped world of murder and revenge._' For the first time in years Sara Sidle was scared, not for her but for Xin. _'Why would anyone want her dead? She's so cute, oh that word, cute, I describe her as cute, since when? So nice, amazing, beautiful, oh God, I'm gay!' _

"Sara?" Xin asked, "We going to get out of this alive?"

"Of course." Though Sara was trying to input both Xin's past and her being gay, she had to support the girl.

"" "" "" ""

"We have five weeks before Xin turns 24, which means all of our resources are put on to her case, no other cases will be worked until our girls are brought home" Grissom briefed the team.

Shu was sitting in the corner in fetal position with Nick trying to get her up, she kept muttering, "She's going to die, she's going to die." over and over again, no matter how many times Nick told her that Xin would be fine, that she'd be saved, she continued muttering.

"" "" "" ""

"Xin tell Sara about Xin past, Sara tell Xin about Sara past, now."

"Do you really want to know?" Xin nodded, "Well, when I was five my dad started hitting me, my mother didn't know about it, she didn't really care though, I didn't tell anyone. I started off as spankings every time he got the chance, then morphed in to fly swatting me, in turn morphing in to punching, eventually it didn't hurt anymore, soon that led to cutting. I was 12 before I told anyone what I had been doing to myself, I got caught cutting in the girls' restroom by my best friend, Keri Kaviani, I was sent to counseling, it didn't help though, everyone thought it did, only because I was more careful about when and where I did it."

"Cutting? Wrists?" Xin asked making a slicing motion on her wrist.

"Yeah." Sara looked at her wrist seeing all the scars, "My dad continued hitting me, and I continued cutting, eventually for every time he hit me I would cut myself, I was always 'that Goth girl with no one to stand beside her'. Even Keri left me when I started withdrawing from everyone. I didn't care though, I enjoyed being alone." Sara didn't understand why she was telling Xin any of this, she hadn't told anyone before, not even her mother, "I dyed every article of clothing in my wardrobe black, my hair became black, nails black, make-up, black, I liked the way the color felt, I loved it. Sorry my past is seriously twisted, if you want me to stop there, I don't mind, I've never even made it past word one before so."

"Continue"

"Ok. Music and cutting became my escape, I listened to the hard music that was mostly only screaming and cut myself listening to it, I couldn't stop, I had tried once, it lasted three hours, and then I cut again. My dad didn't even have to hit me for me to need to cut anymore, I just did it. One night, I was 18, I went to far, I messed up, did something wrong, my mother found me on the floor unconscious almost dead on my floor, and rushed me to the hospital. She didn't try to push the story out of me, but did insist that I stop, she searched my room, my locker everything and threw out my knifes, and then all of the ones in the house, and made sure every shopkeeper in town knew not to sell me any. A month later she died, alcohol poisoning, daddy drugged her wine and her beer, she soon had gone through so many drinks she died on a barstool at the club she worked at."

"Sara! Why you no tell anyone? This scary stuff, worse than horror movie!" Xin stared at her friend afraid.

"I know" Sara frowned, "But I hated my father so much that I ran away, a month later I was reading the obituaries and there it was:

_Michal Sidle_

_1950-1990_

_Michal Sidle was found_

_in his house by the landlord_

_at 7:30 A.M. when he went_

_to collect the rent, dieing from _

_Seven gunshot wounds to the head_

_leaving behind his daughter _

_Sara Sidle who is currently missing._

"Used was the photo from the last family portraitthat had been taken before mom died, I showed up three weeks later at the lost children home, where the city was kind enough to pay for my basic college and all of my supplies, I was left to pay for anything extra I wanted to complete. And now here I am."

"Ewe, twisted." Was all Xin managed to get out.

"Yeah, looks like both of our pasts sorta sucked." Sara smiled, "But what's done is done, we have our futures to look forward to."

"What future, those psychos going to kill Xin and Sara, we have no future!"

"Oh yeah, well then I guess our lives basically sucked then" Xin couldn't help but agree, seeing as how she was 24, single, childless, getting ready to be murdered and then thinking she was possibly gay.

**2 hours prior:**

'_Well this sucks. Just actually thought a female actually beautiful, and I noticed rear when she turned on her side. Think Xin gay, shitake mushrooms!'_

"So, um, how, um, much, um, longer, um, till, um, people, um come back, um, for 'nother video?" Xin asked Sara trying to get her possible gayness off her mind.

"10 minutes."

**End.**

"Seriously, we're getting ready to be murdered" Sara complained, "I just told my entire past to you and you're trying to start another conversation?"

"No trying to play 20 questions."

"Fine, I'll go first. One. What's your full name?"

"Xin Qian Uik Huy Weh Ewer"

"Two. Do you like anyone in the lab?"

"Yes"

"Three. What's his initials?"

"The last one S, or maybe C dunno."

"Four. Do you know where we are?"

"Desert somewhere."

"Very helpful. Five. Are you gay?"

"Maybe a little." Xin looked slightly flushed and embarrassed.

"Six. Is your crush a female crush?"

"Yes." Xin turned her body, unable to look at Sara.

"Seven. Do you like Simple Plan?" Sara made sure to get off the gay topic, seeing the way she was embarrassing Xin.

"Love them, they amazing."

"Eight. What's your favorite Simple Plan song?"

"Um, between seven, Untitled, Crazy, or Welcome To My Life off Still Not Getting Any... And I'm Just a Kid, Perfect, You Don't Mean Anything, or Worst Day Ever off No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls."

Nine. Can you sing?"

"My sister likes my singing, and so did Cheng."

"Ten. Do you think I look good?"

"Hate you right now. Yes I do."

"Eleven. Have you ever been married?"

"Nope."

"12. Are you allergic to anything?"

"Other than you? Penicillin, Tylenol , grass, peanuts, walnuts, chicken…"

"They should put you in a plastic bubble."

"Plastic, dogs, sheep, cats, fish, potatoes, corn, butter, cheese, felt, granite, feathers, need I continue?"

"No. 13. Do you play sports?"

"Um, allergic to grass."

"Wow. 14. Did you have any friends in China?"

"Nope"

"15. Why did you become a CSI?"

'To find man who murdered Cheng."

"16. How did you survive being allergic to all that stuff?"

"Had to have my supplies special ordered, wore shoes all the time, wore a paper surgeon mask when left house. Had special hypoallergenic pillow made."

"17. When the game is over will you sing a SP song for me?"

"I guess I have nothing better to do."

"18. Does the person you have a crush on have the same first initial as her last one?"

"Maybe"

"19. Who is she?"

"I refuse to answer that question!"

"No dodging."

"I'm not dodging, I'm refusing."

"Fine 20. Do you just want to skip my answers and you sing?"

"Yes." And with that she started singing Untitled by Simple Plan:

_I open my eyes  
I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light  
I can't remember how  
I can't remember why  
I'm lying here tonight _

_And I can't stand the pain  
And I can't make it go away  
No I can't stand the pain _

"" "" "" ""

"We have another tape Grissom!" Nick rushed in the room pushing a tape in the VCR:

"**Oh how much fun a game!" The female's voice dripping down their spines once again."**

"**18. Does the person you have a crush on have the same first initial as her last one?"**

"**Maybe"**

"**19. Who is she?"**

"**I refuse to answer that question!"**

"**No dodging."**

"**I'm not I'm refusing."**

"**Fine 20. Do you just want to skip my answers and you sing?"**

"**Oh, what fun, she's gay! Maybe it's a scheme, what do you think?"**

"**I think it's a scheme Pigeon."**

"**Good cause I think LVCL does too. Any way, they're alive, the money is coming and we're having a killer time making their lives even crappier."**

"**_How could this happen to me  
I've made my mistakes  
Got no where to run  
The night goes on  
As I'm fading away  
I'm sick of this life  
I just wanna scream  
How could this happen to me _**

Everybody's screaming  
I try to make a sound but no one hears me  
I'm slipping off the edge  
I'm hanging by a thread  
I wanna start this over again"

"**What a pretty singer is she? Does the song have any specific meaning? That's up to you to decide, goodbye"**

"Grissom?" Nick asked, "Do you understand this? Does the song have particular meaning?"

"Well, the song is about drunk driving, or so the 'music video' Sara was watching implies, I personally despise the band, but Sara loves them, rather annoying if you ask me."

"I know that song!" Catherine burst in the door, "Sorry I over heard, and Lindsey loves Simple Plan, it's talking about 'That we all make mistakes and we can't make up for them no matter how much you yell for forgiveness or how many good deeds you will do.' Trust me those are Lindsey's exact words, not mine, the music confuses me, so angry and mean."

"Catherine, go get Lindsey and bring her here, we have another tape to watch and want her to be here to translate for us."

"Whatever, if it will get the girls home sooner, I'm going to right now."

"" "" "" ""

"Lindsey, what you're about to see might be disturbing but we need someone to translate for us."

"Whatever, this better be important."

"**Hello, this time we decided to let you listen to her singing."**

"**_I've got no place to go_**

_**I've got no where to run**_

_**They'd love to see me fall**_

_**They think they know it all**_

_**I'm a nightmare a disaster**_

_**That's what they always said**_

_**I'm a lost cause not a hero **_

_**But I'll make it on my own**_

_**I'm gonna prove them wrong **_

_**Me against the world.**_

_**(there was a cut)**_

_**In a perfect world **_

_**This could never happen **_

_**In a perfect world **_

_**You'd still be here **_

_**And it makes no sense**_

_**I could just pick up the pieces **_

_**But to you this means nothing **_

_**Nothing at all**_

_**I used to think that I was strong **_

_**Until the day it all went wrong**_

_**I think I need a miracle to make it through**_

_**I wish that I could bring you back**_

_**I with that I could turn back time**_

_**Cause I can't let go **_

_**I just can't find my way**_

_**Without you I just can't find my way"**_

"**More later, see if you can translate it."**

"What is going on?" Lindsey asked confused, "This is weird"

"Can you understand her message?"

"There is something bad going on down there." Lindsey replied, "Someone is using her past to haunt her, using murder. Someone important to her died, and it's being used to her captor's advantage. You have to save her mommy!"

"Baby, don't worry we will. Just crash on this couch, if anything else happens we'll tell you."

"I miss them." Catherine whined, "It's not the same without Sara, even Greg's been boring, and Shu's been all depressed like, causing me to miss someone I never met."

"" "" "" ""

Greg had pulled Shu aside, when Nick had gone because his duties as a potty-trained adult called, he had something to explain, "Shu."

"What you want!"

"I came to apologize"

"For being a dirty man, that never should have been born?"

"No for what I did to you. I wanted to explain. If you'll allow me."

"Go ahead."

"Ok, well, before I found you, I had left work and gone to a bar, I had a couple of drinks, and it turns out that they had been drugged, so not only was I drunk I was high. I tested to figure out what had happened, because Warrick told me what I had done, after beating the crap out of me. I didn't remember any of it, so I used science to see if there was anything odd in my system, and there was, I had a high dose of Tylenol in my system, add some Vicodin and some heroine, some alcohol and you have a very nasty Greg Sanders."

"Whatever Greg" And with that she walked off.


End file.
